MEM

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb(Rev 22:1)

For His Glory!

Message

If I Should Die Before I Wake…

Just the sleepy time prayer of a little child? Maybe not. What would happen if you should die? Would it be just as lying down to sleep? And have you ever wondered why a righteous person might die prematurely? Are you confident that if you die you will live again? Can you Scripturally explain your view of the state of the dead and the hope of a future resurrection?

There is a purpose in the pre-mature death of some of the righteous, consider the following:

Isa 57:1

The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil, 2 He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright way. (NAS unless indicated)

Rev 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

Proverbs 14:32

The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing, But the righteous has a refuge when he dies.

Rest in Peace -

Inscribed on many tombstones?

2 Kings 22:20

"Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place."…

So Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper section of the tombs of the sons of David…

1 Corinthians 15:6

… most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; (have died)

Yes a sleep - but a hint of living again:

Job 14:10 NIV

But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more.11 As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,12so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.

Job’s view of his resurrection - even after his body has decayed:

Job 19:25

For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

****

Death is as one sleeping awaiting an awakening (Resurrection); a new beginning.

This is not just some isolated doctrine - it is throughout Scripture.

The Psalmist Proclaims:

Psalms 17:15

As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake.

Isaiah’s View:

Isaiah 26:19

Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Daniel’s Understanding:

Daniel 12:2

"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

Yeshua (Jesus) called it sleep:

Mark 5:39

And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep." John 11:12 The disciples therefore said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead…

Luke calls Steven’s death a sleep:

Acts 7:60

And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And having said this, he fell asleep.

Paul’s Insight for the sleeping righteous:

1Cor 15:20

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:53

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

John tell us:

1 John 3:2

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.

The argument for a resurrection:

1Cor 15:12

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

1Cor 15:16

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

1Cor 15:19

If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

1Cor 15:20

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:51

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory.

Here is described that promised awakening:

1Thess 4:13

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.

1Thess 4:16

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

John 5:25

"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. 26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Ephesians 5:14

For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you."

Remember Lazarus died - and was brought back to life - a type of the resurrection.

John 11:21

Martha therefore said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 "Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

John 11:23

Jesus said to her, "Your brother shall rise again."

John 11:24

Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

John 11:27

She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world."

John 11:43

And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." 44 He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

****

Resurrection and Judgment:

Revelation 20:12

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Put your heart at ease - there will be a resurrection:

Acts 24:15

having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection …

There are so many more Scriptures that speak of a resurrection to everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. It is the purpose of our Father and His Son to bring us into that Kingdom - to inherit eternal life - to live with them in the wonderful realm. The righteous dead are resting - asleep, waiting to be awakened unto eternal life. Here are a few more verses that may encourage you in your daily walk with Messiah.

[Yeshua]who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.

Thy Kingdom come… Amen

(* editing is done to shorten length - you are encouraged to read the full commentary where applicable)

Proverbs

Why would we want to seek YHVH?

Because:

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 11:7

When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish…

JPS Proverbs 14:32

… but the righteous, even when he is brought to death, hath hope.

Because:

Proverbs 12:28

In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.

Proverbs 14:27

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

Proverbs 19:16

He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.

Because:

Proverbs 13:14

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

That is Why!

****

Master Yeshua thank You for life eternal - You are our victory over death.

Saying (s)

"He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he that loses courage loses all." Cervantes

****

Possibly you have had a loss - one that has set you back and brought so much discouragement to your life you wanted to give up. The death of a loved one or very close friend can be such a time as this. We must take the time to consider the state of the dead and the hope of the dead. To think through the priorities of our life. To examine our motives our hope, our future.

1Cor 15:35

But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"

Take the time to read through the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians.

1Cor 15:51

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Be courageous:

1Cor 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Why?

Proverbs 23:18

Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.

Thus sayeth YHVH:

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

****

Holy One of Israel, give us the confidence to trust Your living Word. Amen

Bible Quiz

How many people did Yeshua appoint and send out two by two?

What two books of the New Testament each have 28 chapters?

Where was Saul (Paul) going when a light from heaven flashed around him?

In the full armor of God, what is worn on the feet?

What was the eighth plague that God placed on Egypt?

Who was the Roman centurion who sent for Peter to come and preach to him?

Who said, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to become a Christian"?

Humility

In our pursuit of humility:

(Lessons from humility and sin.)

"Not to be occupied with your sin but to be fully occupied with God brings deliverance from self." Andrew Murray

****

The Apostle Paul tells us:

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Be not consumed with sin but understand:

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is hope:

Romans 4:7

"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.

Romans 5:1

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 5:10

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

The conclusion - Be delivered from self; focus on the love of God:

Romans 8:38

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

****

Father You have given us the means to have victory over sin - which is Yeshua our Savior.

Prayer

Understanding the precepts of prayer.

Elisha just prayed and YHVH opened the eyes of his servant to see into the Spiritual Realm. Then he prayed again to close the eyes of the Syrian army that came to take Elisha captive; if not to do him in (one of our euphemisms).

Elisha had such a trusting confidence that it allowed him to pray and it happened.

2Kgs 6:17

And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

If you had a mighty spiritual host at your command how would you react?

2Kgs 6:18

As came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

Now this army was Israel’s enemy - what should we do?

2Kgs 6:19

Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. (the capitol of Israel)

Elisha prays again:

2Kgs 6:20

After they entered the city, Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the LORD opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

Good time to do the enemy in:

2Kgs 6:21

When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?" (The king calling Elisha "my father" here is a term of respect.)

NO! wait a minute - Think:

2Kgs 6:22

"Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master."

Yeshua told us how to treat our enemies in Matthew 5:43-45:

2Kgs 6:23

So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.

Wow! You feed your enemy and they leave you alone.

Please YHVH and see the results:

Proverbs 16:7

When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

****

Great and Almighty One, hear our prayer for Your People - Deliver us from our enemies.

Heart of God

How does God feel about issues we face today?

Learn from our Elders

The patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith are there to learn from, to be and set examples for your generation. Learn from them. You are now wise enough to realize how much you don’t know. If you could understand this as a youth - how much more would you have learned! Gain knowledge, seek truth, look to your elders for wisdom, for in that you may gain great insight from their experience without having to learn the hard way. It may be old-fashioned and not bright and shiny new but it works when it is built on a strong foundation of faith and work ethic. This is important and valuable. Cherish it and those who you learn from.

1Tim 5:17

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.

****

Material in this section is based on various prayer diaries.

Did you know

Why Dogs Don't Need Snow Boots

by Brian Thomas, M.S. *

Human feet would quickly freeze if exposed to snow and ice without
proper gear, but dogs don't seem to mind the cold. Since the pads of
their feet aren't protected by fur like the rest of their bodies, it
would seem that they'd be especially susceptible to freezing-but they
aren't. Japanese researchers recently discovered why.

It turns out that dog paws have tiny blood vessels arranged as
counter-current heat exchangers. This way, dogs' internal body heat is
not lost through the soles of their feet. Instead, cold blood is
warmed right in their paws before it re-enters the main blood supply.
Plus, most of the core body blood re-circulates back into the body,
instead of straight to the feet, to keep the animals' temperature
consistently warm even when walking on ice.

In their study published in the journal Veterinary Dermatology, the
researchers found the dogs' "wonderful network" of veins by injecting
something like liquid rubber into the blood vessels of the dogs'
feet.1 They were then able to examine the three-dimensional vessel
network after the chemical hardened. The vessels "formed a
vein-artery-vein triad" where heat could flow at just the right pace
across the system.2

This discovery only adds to the long list of known dog features that
identify them as intentionally created creatures, including the dog's
straight back that "better absorbs the power that is generated by the
hindquarters when the animal is moving."3 Animal anatomist Daniel
Schmitt called dog locomotion "an evolutionary miracle in my view."4

Also, a dog's sense of smell is so acute that it can distinguish
between identical twins,5 and its hearing is so well-developed that it
can hear sounds up to 40,000 cycles per second-twice what human ears
can hear. And their ear structure enables them to hear "about 4 times
farther than humans are capable of hearing."6

Superior dog engineering, from head to toe, should point thinking
people to a superior Engineer.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on January 30, 2012.

From An E-mail:

I Pray You ENOUGH

Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, 'I love you, and I pray you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I pray you enough, too, Mom.'

They kissed, and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'

'Well...I'm not as young as I once was, she lives so far away & has her own busy life. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is - her next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I pray you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

She began to smile. 'That's a prayer that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I pray you enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'

Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

***
I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
***

Then, she began to cry, and walked away.

They say, it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them.

Let's not forget our friends.

TAKE TIME TO LIVE....

To all my friends and loved ones,

I PRAY YOU ENOUGH......

****

Our Father in heaven - may we have enough to stand before You in Yeshua’s righteousness.

Lighter Side

Bumper stickers for the over 60 crowd

Send this to everyone you're still able to remember!

And never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative at the same time.

****************

Have a good day!

The Modern Church

95 Theses to the Modern Evangelical Church

by Greg Gordon - (founder of SermonIndex.net)

66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4; Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)

67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)

68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)

Cause and Effect

Scribbles

(By Michael Boldea Jr.)

The Neutered Gospel

"If the gospel messages you’ve been hearing lo’ these many years have never once made you feel uncomfortable then you’ve never really heard the true gospel message.

"If the gospel messages you’ve been hearing lo’ these many years have never once challenged you then you’ve never really heard the true gospel message.

"If the gospel messages you’ve been hearing lo’ these many years haven’t accentuated Christ and the cross in perpetuity then you’ve never really heard the true gospel message.

"If the gospel messages you’ve been hearing lo’ these many years have never once stirred you to repentance, prompted inward introspection, humbled you, caused you to weep and truly see the enormity of your sin, then you’ve never really heard the true gospel message, but a neutered version wherein God is always smiling, the sun is always shining, the birds are always chirping and no matter what you do, God’s holding onto you so tight that you’ll never be able to get away."

Consider

A smile is a language even a baby understands.

Learning to say I’m sorry" brings peace to your life.

Life is what happens while you are making other plans.

Room for improvement is the largest room in the world.

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short.

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as you go along.

If people didn’t say anything unless they knew what they were talking about, a ghastly hush would fall upon the earth.

Bytes

Just Wait*

Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, "How have we spoken against you?" You have said, "It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape." (Malachi 3:13-15; ESV)

Have you ever felt that it is useless to serve God? We compare our lives to that of those who couldn't care less about God and it seems that they have it pretty good. They flaunt their unbelief and their immorality and get away with it, while those who trust God and seek to do the right thing seem to have no end of trouble.

Unless God clearly reveals the reason for something all we have to go on is our best guesses. It's easy to create false impressions based on how we view circumstances. Hardships are some of our best teachers, while successes, though they may be enjoyable for a time, can set us up for great trouble down the road.

But what about when our hard times go on and on? We need to grasp the bigger picture. The more we understand that life is more than what happens to us personally moment by moment, the more we will be free from the effects of daily difficulties.

From his (God’s) perspective, it is worth it for us to go through whatever pain is necessary now, so that we can enjoy a wonderful future forever. As we read in the New Covenant writings, "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17; ESV).

God responds to those who question the value of serving him by saying, "Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him" (Malachi 3:18; ESV) The way things are now are not the way they will always be. Just wait.

By Alan Gilman
TorahBytes Communications

*(This document was edited for length)

Psalm Promise

Psalm 84:8, 10-12

Psalm 84:8

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer…

Psalm 84:10

For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:11

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 84:12

O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee!

Courage, confidence, hope, this is the spirit we need in the face of calamity, of trials, and of pain. Turning to the Psalms is a great way to stir up your spirit and bring peace. Read and take on the pleadings of the Psalmist; then say, "Ah how blessed are those that trust in YHVH."

****

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20

And blessed be God Most High…)

Essence of Scripture

Psalm 27:14

Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.